BEIJING – Chip designer ARM has cut ties with Huaweilink,threatening the Chinese tech giant’s ability to develop its own chips. Asthe BBC news reports, ARM has instructed its employees to stop all activecontracts, support entitlements, and any pending commitments with theChinese tech giant due to the US trade ban. Huawei relies on ARM for chipdesigns for its own Kirin processors.link
The US previously banned its companieslinkfromdoing business with Huawei, after which the Chinese company lost supportfrom Googlelink, Intel, and Qualcommlink.
But later the US lifted the ban for 90 dayslink sothat the US companies dependent on Huawei’s technology can find alternatesources to continue their work.
ARM company is based in the UK and owned by the Japanese SoftBank group,but they are worried that the US ban affects them, due to the fact that thedesign of ARM’s chips has US-origin technology. ARM manufactures someprocessor designs in Austin, Texas and San Jose, California, which couldplace them under the restrictions of the US.
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HuaweilinkpaysARM to license these chips, and without the licenses, Huaweilinklose the authority to develop its own processor using ARM designs and itsHiSilicon fabless semiconductor firm.
ARM spokesperson told the Verge, *“ARM is complying with the latestrestrictions set forth by the US government and is having ongoingconversations with the appropriate US government agencies to ensure weremain compliant. We value our close relationships with our partners, butrecognize the pressure some of them are under, as a result of politicallymotivated decisions”.*
